期刊
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY
卷 43, 期 1, 页码 27-35出版社
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.10.012
关键词
Alternative hosts; Dilution effect; Fleas; Habitat loss; Thresholds; Ticks
类别
资金
- Natural Environmental Research Council, United Kingdom [NER/S/A/2004/12201]
- Leverhulme Trust Research, United Kingdom fellowship
Theory suggests that habitat fragmentation should reduce the risk of being parasitised due to reduced size and increased isolation of the host population. It is predicted that a threshold host population size exists, below which parasites will not be able to persist. Small mammals were trapped and their ecto-parasites removed in 14 field margins of varying widths over 2 years in a highly fragmented.agro-ecosystem. No evidence to suggest the presence of a threshold in parasite prevalence was found, which may be due to the high rate of host movement and transiency within the system. Contrary to expectation, the probability of infestation decreased with host abundance and the abundance of alternative hosts, suggesting a dilution effect. The relatively long life cycle of small mammal specialist tick and flea species present under the prevailing environmental conditions may have left the parasites unable to keep up with the rate of reproduction and dispersal of the host. It is important to consider changes in the behaviour of the host and the presence of alternative hosts when predicting the effects of habitat fragmentation on disease spread. (C) 2012 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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